Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s underground base, codenamed "Project No. 2," Nick Fury fell into deep thought. While speaking with Hill, he walked toward the core area of the facility.
Fury moved quickly and soon arrived at the heart of the base.
Several scientists were busy working in front of densely packed high-tech equipment. Their expressions were grave, as though they had encountered a major problem.
Just as Fury finished speaking with Selvig, the scientist in charge of the project, a piercing alarm suddenly echoed throughout the core area.
At the center of the room, the Tesseract, secured within a specialized device, suddenly burst into deep blue light. Energy detectors immediately showed that it was releasing massive amounts of power.
The energy levels far exceeded any previous abnormal readings, instantly filling everyone present with unease.
All eyes turned toward the Tesseract.
The blue glow grew brighter and brighter, and the energy even began to condense into visible matter.
A strange stream of energy formed in front of the Tesseract, shimmering with an intense azure radiance.
Buzz—!
The Tesseract emitted a peculiar hum as a beam of blue light shot outward, stopping five or six meters away.
The beam tore open a spatial gateway, revealing pitch-black emptiness on the other side.
Everyone stared in astonishment at the sudden transformation.
Then, a figure stepped out of the portal. Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, he dropped to one knee and struck a dramatic pose.
Nick Fury flew into a rage.
"You'd better not strike poses on my turf, or you're dead!"
He was about to order his men to seize the intruder, but before he could do so, the man launched an attack.
The intruder raised the scepter in his hand, firing a dim blue energy blast that struck a nearby piece of equipment.
Boom!
The machine was blasted over, crackling with pale-blue electrical arcs that hissed violently.
Two scientists beside it were struck head-on. The falling equipment and surging electricity hit them simultaneously, killing them before they even had time to react.
But that was only the beginning.
The man who had emerged from the portal continued swinging his scepter, releasing destructive energy waves in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, the entire core area descended into chaos.
Whoosh!
Seeing that the intruder showed no sign of stopping, Hawkeye, positioned at a distance, loosed an arrow. The shaft tore through the air, flying straight toward him.
The man saw the incoming arrow but remained completely unfazed. With a casual flick of his scepter, he knocked it aside.
At the same time, he locked onto Hawkeye and fired another beam of energy.
Caught off guard, Hawkeye was blasted backward, his body lifted into the air before slamming violently into a machine behind him.
Though he was not seriously injured, the instant he hit the ground, the man rushed forward and pressed the scepter against Hawkeye's chest.
Hawkeye felt a strange force surge from his heart. His hostility toward the intruder vanished, replaced by a deep sense of submission.
It was as if another personality had awakened inside him, one that gradually overtook his original self.
The man's lips curled into a cruel smile as he turned and charged toward the remaining guards.
Clang! Bang! Ding!
Bullets struck his body from every direction, but they were completely useless. They ricocheted harmlessly off him as he advanced, killing several guards and converting others to his will, just as he had done to Hawkeye.
After wiping out all resistance, he still seemed unsatisfied.
He approached Selvig, the leader of the project, smiling as he placed the scepter against him and enslaved him as well.
Only then did he turn his gaze toward Nick Fury.
During the chaos, Fury had narrowly avoided the energy blasts. Using the distraction, he endured the scorching heat and smashed the device restraining the Tesseract.
Though his gloves were burned black, he managed to secure the cosmic cube inside a specially designed container, preparing to escape with it.
But at that moment, he was spotted by Hawkeye.
With no other option, Fury attempted to stall the intruder through conversation, hoping to use the Tesseract's power to escape when the underground base collapsed.
However, his plan was quickly exposed by the mind-controlled Hawkeye and Selvig.
The man wasted no further time. He struck Fury down, seized the container holding the Tesseract, and fled by vehicle with Hawkeye, Selvig, and the others.
Despite Hill's pursuit and the ground collapsing under the destabilizing energy of the Tesseract, it made no difference.
They escaped successfully, obtained the artifact, and completely destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Project No. 2 base, reducing it to ruins.
Barely surviving, Nick Fury was consumed by fury.
He activated the long-prepared Avengers Initiative, beginning the recruitment of extraordinary individuals to form a team capable of stopping the invader.
At this point, the identity of that man was unmistakably clear.
That man was Loki.
And thus began the opening chapter of The Avengers.
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